Who We Become (Power Rangers Ninja Steel)

Chapter 23- Information Overload

(July 10, 2009)

The contestants were gathering.

Another shudder ran through the ship making Brody grip his desk. It seemed every five minutes a new ship docked on the Warrior Dome. Remembering last season didn't help the spikes of anxiety that came with each reminder of a new contestant's arrival.

Mick continued with whatever he was working on, not paying attention to the rumblings. Though, Brody mused, after being stuck here eleven some Earth years he'd had a lot more time to become used to it. Or maybe he didn't notice since he had another deadline doled out by Galvanax.

After the last season Galvanax's show had somehow become even more popular. Brody credited that to the mystery of what the Prism offered. That and the dynamic view Mick's cameras provided. Mick believed a lot of the contestants just wanted to train to fight the newest power rangers (something about wild animal spirits?)- even if this group was more Earthbound than some of their predecessors. While Galvanax kept a tight lid on that info, even in the cells they'd heard whispers of heroes- or villains depending on who the information came from. Though it seemed the group had already hung up their morphers by the end of the last Galaxy Warriors season if some of the gossip was to be believed. Hard to know for sure though when floating in space light years away.

Still, Brody clung to those whispers. His dad had been a power ranger, however briefly. Power rangers were the heroes. Maybe that was why the Prism hadn't opened for Galvanax or his slew of contestants.

A snap came close to Brody's ear. He jumped and looked up to see Mick staring at him. The older man's brows were furrowed and his mouth drawn in a thin line. "Brody? You okay?"

"Yeah, just thinking." Brody didn't elaborate and Mick didn't push with Brody at least now responsive.

"Can you hand me the crescent wrench?"

Brody passed it over and turned his attention to the paper in his hands. A smattering of no-longer-quite-as-random symbols filled the page. Despite the business that came with prepping for a new season, Mick determined it was high time to start teaching Brody Karlec.

And Brody had thought English was bad.

The symbols were more like pictures than letters and the pronunciation did not come naturally. Brody decided to retaliate by teaching Mick English. Well, encouraging Mick to learn English since he didn't know many of the finer points himself. Getting kidnapped at eight made his education take an abrupt shift. The translators at least helped Brody retain his knowledge of the language and Mick had made a mental note to add grammar lessons to the list of what to download next for school.

Even in the craziness of their work, it turned out to be much easier to incorporate language studies into the day compared to Brody's other subjects. Mick's written instructions for his projects were usually in Karlec and, when they weren't exhausted, they talked pretty consistently when working together. It was just a matter of turning off the translators to stretch their language skills.

They started pointing at objects and naming them in their respective languages. By now Brody could put together simple sentences, though most included tools of some sort. Still Brody had a long way to go, in both languages if he was honest with himself. The paper in front of him taunted that point.

Brody sighed and passed it back to Mick. "I recognize the word for drawer, but not any of the other ones."

"What about this one?" Mick tapped the paper.

Brody looked at the characters and frowned. It was made of a few basic ones Mick had gone over, but in that particular combination one of them made a different sound . . . Brody tried to sound it out in his head and translate it.